Lactuca sativa

Lactuca sativa

Systematic Position

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:Tracheophytes/Angiosperms/Eudicots

Class: Asterids

Order: Asterales

Family: Asteraceae

Genus: Lactuca 

Specie: sativa

Authority: L.

Uses & Benefits:

    Beside its usual purpose as an edible leafy vegetable, lettuce has had a number of uses in medicine. Lettuce has mild narcotic properties; it was called "sleepwort" although the cultivated L. sativa has lower levels of the narcotic than its wild cousins. Generally grown as a annual, lettuce is easily cultivated, although it requires relatively low temperatures to prevent it from flowering quickly. 

---